The Giants haven't yet sold out any of their games with the Dodgers this weekend, which might not be surprising considering one of the teams has fallen off the NL West map.

A club official said Saturday's game is nearly sold out, but tonight's and Sunday's are expected to be less than full houses.

While the Giants are a near lock for their first last-place finish since 1996 - they missed the cellar last year by a half-game - the Dodgers still have hopes of winning the division or wild card.

The Giants, as they did in their last homestand when they swept the Brewers, can inflict some serious damage on a contender, in this case their No. 1 rival.

"It means a lot to them so it means a lot to us," ex-Dodger Dave Roberts said. "We want to make it as difficult as possible for those guys."

Tyler Walker, who's in his second go-round with the Giants, was raised in Marin County a Giants fan and often sat in the Candlestick bleachers, but he - like manager Bruce Bochy- isn't big on the reference to spoilers.

"I'd rather play good baseball and win games than be considered a spoiler," Walker said.

Don't ask the two most recent pitchers called up from the minors, Dan Gieseand Erick Threets, to provide perspective on Giants versus Dodgers, even though Giese grew up in Riverside and Threets is from Granada High School in Livermore.

As a kid, Threets was an A's fan, Giese an Angels fan. In fact, Giese was so pro-Angels, he never set foot into Dodger Stadium. To this day. He'll get his first chance in the season's final weekend.

"We had season tickets to the Angels. At least until they signed Mo Vaughnand raised their prices," Giese said. "Then we canceled."

Closer battle: While Brad Hennessey is 18-for-21 in save situations and Brian Wilsonhas given up two runs in 14 appearances as the setup man, Walker is also effective in late-inning relief, surrendering one hit in his first five appearances since returning from Tommy John surgery.

When Bochy was asked about Hennessey and Wilson as candidates to be next year's closer, he said, "Walker's in the mix, too. It's great to have three different styles, three guys with a closer mentality."

Bochy said he hopes to have a good idea who'll be the closer before spring training, meaning the relievers' work in September could be a determining factor.